1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing accessories. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fishing tackle holder which is mountable on the handle of a fishing rod or on the rod shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sport fisherman may at times wish to travel light and may not wish to carry a full tackle box on a fishing expedition. In addition, when taking breaks from the actual fishing, as when moving to a new locations, a fisherman may wish to store a lure or other fishing tackle in a safe place where it will not catch upon plants, persons, clothing or other tackle. The fisherman may then wish to store a lure while it is still attached to the line on the rod.
Most fisherman have a variety of rod types within their tackle collections for use in different fishing applications. The fisherman may wish to have a lure holding device at his disposal but may not wish to have a rod shaft mounted holder interfering with the action, or the appearance and finish, of the particular rod shaft he is using.
Numerous prior art devices have been suggested in an effort to solve these problems.
Sitec, U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,438, discloses a container for fishing rods having two saddle-like containers straddling a rod. A hinge connects the containers and includes two elements which act as spring sections to keep the apparatus on the fishing rod.
Reynolds, U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,502, discloses a rod-mountable transparent case for fish lures which is usable to protectively hold a fish lure during shipment, to form a display case to assist its sale, and to constitute a protective case between uses or during storage. The case of Reynolds includes a pair of case members which are hingedly connected along edges thereof, and they close upon a rod by means of indentations provided in the edges of case members.
Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,851, discloses a pole mounted fish hook holder and guard in which the hook support and guard are movably disposed within the cavity of a molded plastic body. A removable hinge clip or coupling member is used to clip the plastic body to a fishing pole.
Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,245, discloses a fishing lure holder in which a clip is adapted to engage and be frictionally secured on a fishing rod. A flexible plastic sheet extends outwardly from the clip and may be wrapped around a lure and then attached to the opposite side of the clip. The holder of Peterson is open at the top and bottom thereof.
Deutsch et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,003, discloses a storage case for fish hooks including a pair of hingedly connected housing halves to allow a line to pass therethrough. Anchor tabs having keyhole-shaped recesses are provided in edges portions of the housing halves for snap-anchoring engagement on a fishing rod line guide.
While the above-mentioned patents do disclose various types of rod shaft-mountable fish hook storage containers, the need still exists in the art for a rod-mountable accessory holder which may be utilized in a variety of positions on the rod, depending on the type of equipment utilized by the fisherman.
None of the above-patents teach, as does the present invention, the mounting of a fishing tackle holder directly on a fishing rod handle itself, which allows quick and easy access thereto without manipulating latches or fasteners. Further, a device according to the present invention will not interfere with the action of the rod shaft and fishing line during the presentation of the lure and the retrieval of the fish, as may the known devices.
Where the rod shaft-mounted lure holder is desired, the present invention may be utilized in substantially any orientation on the rod shaft, unlike the above devices, to select that position which best meets the needs of the equipment performance, whatever the variety of rod and reel being used.